


Avatar: the Rise of Shang

by Joedonfred12345



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Avatar: the Rise of Shang, Cross-Posted on Tumblr, Original Character(s), Post-Avatar: The Last Airbender, Post-Avatar: The Legend of Korra, Sequel, Unofficial Sequel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-07
Updated: 2020-12-07
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:48:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,371
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27945569
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Joedonfred12345/pseuds/Joedonfred12345
Summary: Five years after the death of Avatar Korra the world received a new nightmare. The new Avatar meant to be the world's savior, declared war upon the Elemental Nations, conquering Republic City in a single day, and began his campaign on the rest of the world. Ten years after, enter Shang Han: a non-bender and a survivor of Avatar Temujin's attack. When his life gets turned upside down he finds himself sucked into an ancient war of Spirits and secret societies that has waged since man first discovered Bending. With new allies by his side, Shang must do the impossible, and vanquish the most powerful Bender in the world: the Avatar.





	Avatar: the Rise of Shang

The inky night all about them was broken only by the torches that blazed about them. Li frowned to himself as he cast his eyes about the darkness. He knew it was silly to search for spies and intruders when they had taken all the care in the world to prepare for tonight, but Li had never been one to half-ass paranoia. He drew his black cloak tighter around him to ward off the cold night air.  
Li turned back to the center of the circle where the other members of the Black Lotus stood. There were six in total, no more and no less. Each one wore the black cloak and the blank white mask, the only thing to differentiate them being the small elemental emblem on each mask, indicating their nation of origin. Li’s own mask bore an Earth sigil, alongside his female counterpart.  
“Cold tonight,” he muttered.  
To his left Naruk, bearing a water sigil on his mask, chuckled. “Think this is cold Li? Try the Poles you Earth Kingdom weakling.” beside Naruk, his female counterpart giggled at the thought.  
Li glared and turned to Sayna in the Fire section of the circle. “Perhaps some more heat, dear Sayna?”  
Sayna said nothing but bowed her head in acquiescence. A moment later the torches that illuminated them flared to violent life causing the Water and Air masked members to jump. This time it was Li and Xiungha, Li’s female Earth counterpart, to giggle.  
“Idiots!” snapped Ai-Tai from the air section across from Li. “We cannot interrupt the Sage’s ritual!”  
Li bit back a response but clammed up. Sayna bowed her head, chastised, and allowed the torches to die down a bit.  
Li turned his attention to the circle they stood at the edge of. Four sections, carved out using the four elements, the circle held symbols and kanji that Li knew only the faintest understanding of. He knew what they were supposed to do, but their meaning was lost on the Earth Kingdom man. All he knew was that they had been passed down by the Black Lotus for centuries. One after another, bit by bit, all in preparation for this moment.  
And in the center of the circle sat the Sage, the leader of the Black Lotus himself, his head bowed in meditation.  
Li had no idea what the Sage’s true name was, or even what he looked like. He’s at least seen the other Black Lotus members out of costume, but never the Sage. Never without his cloak and mask. Some said he was immortal. Others thought he was a Spirit, using a human form as a disguise. Li wasn’t sure about all that, only that he would do as he promised. As he had when he had first met Li.  
With the Sage was the child, the Chosen One. the one the Sage had found for this moment. The child was unconscious, drunk of the Milk of the Poppy, his head resting in the Sage’s lap. The one who would be their weapon.  
The sky was moonless, the sun was asleep. They had waited thousands of years for this night. It was almost time.  
Suddenly, the Sage’s head shot up, his eyes pupil-less through his mask which bore no sigil. “The Avatar has died. Begin the ritual!”  
At his order Li immediately dropped into a stance, Xiungha following suit. All eight members of the Black Lotus followed suit. As one they began to move, gathering their Chi as they went through the poses and forms that had been drilled into them from childhood. All for here, all for this moment.  
As their Chi gathered and they moved through the poses, it seemed to Li that there was a great pressure all around them. Like he was being pressured on all sides by invisible hands. The air began to stink of ozone.  
Further they moved, performing the moves with icy precision. The torches flared wildly, the fire lashing angrily against the night. Though he dared not break concentration to look, Li was cognizant of clouds gathering overhead.  
In and out. In and out. It felt like his lungs were filling up with water. Each time he stepped upon the Earth it felt like it was trying to close around his feet. It seemed as though the entire universe was rising up in anger against his actions, but still he moved, unwilling or unable to stop he could not tell.  
In and out.  
In and out.  
The pressure was building.  
The wind was howling.  
It seemed that there was a presence among them, a furious consciousness lashing against their movements as they danced among the ancient symbols. But Li did not- could not- stop.  
One two three. One two three. Lightning flashed about them, striking mere feet away from Li. One two three. One two-  
In a flash, the pressure was gone. Li had performed his final movement, and nearly stumbled from the sudden relief. The clouds in the sky dissipated, the fire in the torches receded, and the Earth was simply Earth again.  
Taking an unstead breath, he nearly stumbled only for Xiungha to right him, to which he nodded in thanks. Casting a quick eye about it seemed the other six were suffering similar circumstances.  
Li looked to the center where the Sage sat, and at the boy who still slumbered.  
The boy whose skin held a rapidly fading blue glow.  
A thrill ran up Li’s spine.  
They had done it!  
They had committed the ultimate blasphemy here tonight. They had defied the will of every Spirit there was. They had won. All that remained was for the rest of the world to know it.  
Li and the others came up to the Sage where he was running his fingers lovingly through the boy’s hair. Temujin, he recalled, was his name. Some Earth Kingdom brat that the Sage had pilfered for this very purpose.  
“So, that’s our Avatar? Doesn’t look like much,” comment Li.  
“He will grow,” said the Sage in a voice that seemed to be thrice layered over itself. “And we shall shape him.”  
Li crossed his arms and grinned. “Of course. After all, weapons need a hand to wield them don’t they.”  
They had won. All that remained was for the rest of the world to understand that fact.  
They had won.  
\-- -- -- --  
Ten Years Later  
Republic City  
Shang Han, all of five years old, stared up at the glittering glut of entertainment in the shop window before him. All of five years old, his eyes were captivated by the bright lights of the television sets, all advertising the same thing:  
Avatar: the Last Airbender  
Relive the amazing story of the legendary Avatar Aang on the brand new PlayBox! Power your Play!  
Shang was mentally crafting his pleas for his mother to buy him the new system, which would consist mainly of “Please momma, please!”. He had to have this system! They had gotten a new TV recently, and what use was a TV if you didn’t have video games to play on it?! All his parents used it for was to watch the boring old news. Granted, he enjoyed cartoons, but his moms had him on a tight time restraint when it came to that.  
“Shang! Shang!” cried his mom, Aoi Han. The woman pushed through the throng of children gathered around the shop window and grabbed her son’s arm. “There you are! Come on, we’re going to miss the train at this rate.”  
Shang gulped and pointed at the inside. “Momma! Can we get it momma!? Can we, can we?!” There, he’d given his pitch. And what mother wouldn’t bend to such a convincing argument!?  
Aoi pursed her lips and inhaled deeply. “Honey, no. Now come on!” she said, jerking Shang along.  
Shang was horrified. How could she have not been swayed?! “But- but it’s really cool and I’ve been really good, and-”  
Aoi cut him off. “Maybe for your birthday. Now come on son, we’re going to be late.”  
The boy hung his head and dutifully followed his mother. He understood the veiled threat that came with talks about birthdays. If you were bad you didn’t get crap for it. Better to be good and scheme for a way to guilt mom into getting it later.  
The two of them moved through the streets of Republic City to one of the train stations that dotted the city. Aoi deftly moved through the crowd, child in tow, up to the front where her wife, Itsu, waited.  
Itsu’s face lit up when she saw her wife and child approached. “Hey, thought you two were going to be late. Train’s almost here.”  
Aoi rolled her eyes. “I caught this one at the window of Sai’s. I swear, those games are going to rat his brain completely one of these days.”  
Shang snorted. “Momma, games don’t rot your brain. Games are fun!”  
Itsu sighed. “New PlayBox? You know he’s not gonna stop asking about it until he gets it right?” she glanced down at Shang. “Right kid?”  
Shang beamed. “Yup!”  
“Don’t encourage him!” snapped Aoi. “And you know we can’t afford it,” she said, concern in her voice  
“Oh? We can’t?” she asked coyly.  
Aoi narrowed her eyes. “What are you talking-” her eyes flew wide and her face split into a smile. “You got it! The promotion!”  
Itsu beamed and let Aoi leap into her arms. “I got it hon.”  
Shang watched blankly as his moms acted weird. Must be that love crap people always talked about. Eh, seemed stupid to him. “Does this mean I can get the PlayBox and Avatar?”  
Aoi dropped out of Itsu’s arms and scooped up her son. “Maybe for you birthday honey,” she said sweetly. Shang pouted in her arms and Itsu booped him on the nose.  
The strange family could not be more different. Aoi was of Earth Kingdom descent, a plain looking woman in her late twenties and with already graying hair. Itsu, by contrast, was a devastatingly beautiful Fire Nation woman, right down to her amber eyes. As for Shang, he took after Aoi, his biological mother. The dark hair, the hazel eyes, and softer features as opposed to Itsu’s “sharp enough to cut glass” features.  
The family was interrupted by the train’s arrival and boarded, settling in for the ride to the Entertainment Quarter where the Ember Island Players were performing, one night only. Aoi had won the tickets in a raffle, and they were turning it into a family affair. It was the five year anniversary of the death of Avatar Korra, and the Players were performing in her honor.  
“So,” drawled Itsu, looking down at Shang. “You really want that PlayBox, don’t you kid?”  
Shang nodded eagerly and Aoi groaned.  
Itsu nodded and leaned towards him. “Well, I’ll tell you what. You behave yourself at the play tonight, and eat all your vegetables for the next month, maaaaybe,” she stressed, “We’ll get it for you.”  
“Honey!” said Aoi as Shang nodded eagerly.  
“What?” asked Itsu. “Kids deserve to have fun.”  
“He spends too much time in front of the TV as it is. If we get him that PlayBox he’ll never leave the house again,” sighed Aoi.  
“I’m not saying we just give it to him and let him go ham. There’ll be rules and stuff,” she elaborated.  
Shang’s mood was soured somewhat by the word “rules”, but still, the idea of actually getting the PlayBox was enough to brighten his day. The train jolted to life, the Earth Benders that drove it forward sending it forward.  
“I’m just saying, it would be better to wait till he’s older,” said Aoi. “And, you know, his brain is more developed.”  
“Oh come on, you don’t actually buy that “it rots your brain” crap?” asked Itsu.  
“No! But I still-”  
BOOOOOOM!  
The explosion rocked the train and the elevated track it rode upon. Gripped by a sudden sensation of falling, Shang latched onto his mother. Distantly he heard himself and everyone else scream. There was the screech of metal. Explosions.  
CRASH!  
Shang was ripped from his mother’s grip as the train crashed to the ground. He couldn’t hear anymore, his ears were ringing. All around him was dust and sparks. He landed on his back, his own wailing silent to his ears as he looked up through a window. High, high in the sky, outshining the setting sun, was a glowing blue object.  
Sobbing in fear and pain, Shang rolled onto his stomach. There was an intense pain in his legs as he looked around desperately for his moms. He could barely see, the tears pouring from his eyes obscuring his vision.  
Finally he saw her. Aoi, struggling to get onto her hands and knees. She was bleeding from a great gash on her head, and one of her arms dangled uselessly by her side. She looked up, seeing Shang across the overturned train car. With a groan, Aoi slumped to the ground, doing her best to wriggle her way forward, reaching her one good hand towards him.  
Shang, still screaming and sobbing, reached out towards her as well. If he could just get to her, just get to momma, everything would be fine. The world would right itself. Things would be okay.  
He reached out, crawling closer to her. His hand reached out, their fingers nearly touching.  
The second explosion took down the building next to the train tracks. It collapsed on top of the fallen cars.  
The debris fell.  
Shang screamed.  
\-- -- -- --  
Ten years ago the world’s worst nightmare came to life. Ten years ago the Avatar, the one who was meant to be our savior, became the world’s enemy.  
His name was Temujin, and backed by his cult of followers: the Army of Four Points, he conquered Republic City in a single afternoon. Renamed Empire City, he made it the seat of his power for his war upon the world.  
We are in disarray. Friends turn on friends, family betrays family, and the innocent always seem to pay the price.  
We thought the world had entered an era of peace. But we were lied to.  
This is the War of the Avatar.

**Author's Note:**

> If you enjoy this series, please consider supporting me on patreon! Here's the link: https://www.patreon.com/joedonfred?fan_landing=true
> 
> Also check out my original works on Amazon! Just type in "Joseph Fredrickson" and you'll find them. Thank you!


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